More on Revising
This makes the third week of revising my new manuscript. Week 3. Over 21 days. It feels like way, way longer than that. Like years...
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*Note from Jaime: these entries are all so old but I can't bring myself to delete them! Maybe someday I'll add more...
berryjaime
Oct 9, 20192 min read
A Halloween Haunting
Every October I'm reminded of the time I met Joan Bauer. I'd joined a critique group and one of my critique partners compared my story to...
140
berryjaime
Aug 21, 20191 min read
Climbing Mountains
I’ve sort of been thinking of the journey to publication like hiking up a mountain. There are all these obstacles, but for the most part,...
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berryjaime
Aug 6, 20191 min read
Time Off
Recently I took a break from a manuscript. I have a first draft. Hooray! But it needs so much work and time to make it better. Three...
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berryjaime
Jul 29, 20191 min read
Word Choice
My son once asked if I knew that crowned eagles ate baby cantaloupes. I never told him he'd misheard or misunderstood, and it was...
220
berryjaime
Jul 22, 20192 min read
Rejection
Finishing my first book felt like such an accomplishment. I still remember printing off those almost two-hundred pages and staring at...
330
berryjaime
Jul 7, 20191 min read
Waiting
Everyone knows that waiting is part of the publishing business. But what I didn't really understand is what that's actually like. It's...
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berryjaime
Jul 6, 20192 min read
First Drafts
What you see on the right is my picture. What you see on the left is a portrait my 6-year-old drew of me recently. He worked so hard. He...
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berryjaime
May 16, 20192 min read
Calling it Quits
I’ve been working on this middle grade magical realism story since before my now two-year-old was born. The first draft is such a...
150
berryjaime
Apr 28, 20192 min read
Untitled
I love that I get to write, that my life has turned out in such a way that I have the time to sit and think and read and write stories....
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berryjaime
Apr 13, 20191 min read
There is no kingdom like the forests. -- Ursula K. LeGuinn, The Farthest Shore
My family hikes almost every weekend. We often go to the exact same trail, but it always looks a bit different, reminding me what an...
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berryjaime
Jan 21, 20191 min read
More Revision
Revising is hard. Really hard. I keep reminding myself that this hard work will pay off, that it will make the story better, that...
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berryjaime
Dec 30, 20181 min read
Expectations
My two-year-old ripped the wrapping off his first present, clutched it to his chest, and yelled, "A box. Me love it!" Then we got him to...
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berryjaime
Mar 31, 20182 min read
Writing Lessons from a Five Year Old
I love rules, and better yet, handbooks, so I can refer back to the rules I’ve forgotten. My middle son has chosen a different route....
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berryjaime
Jan 16, 20181 min read
Snowy Day
I need to shovel my walk. But I can think of at least 5 better things to do.
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